When the women’s tennis team traveled to southern California to play the LA schools in February, the trip was marked by rain delays, gripping drama and nailbitingly close matches.

It was a different story this past weekend, when the top-ranked Cardinal (20-0, 7-0 Pac-10) convincingly crushed both No. 10 UCLA and No. 4 Southern California, 7-0 and 6-1, respectively.

Despite weather concerns, the sun came out for Friday’s match against UCLA (12-4, 4-2) and Saturday’s match against USC (13-3, 4-1), allowing the Cardinal to reassert their dominance after a near-loss to Pepperdine over spring break.

“Good thing the weather pulled through for us, because those were important matches to get under our belts to build more confidence with leading up to the big tournaments that are coming up,” sophomore Lejla Hodzic said. “This past weekend’s matches were one of the biggest of the season, despite the lopsided scores.”

Hodzic was integrated into the singles lineup for Friday’s match against UCLA, and handily defeated Elizabeth Lumpkin at the No. 6 spot, 6-2, 6-0. Her match was the quickest of the day.

“I was very pumped up to play and was determined to be the first one off the court,” she said. “I think overall everyone was much more alert and energized playing the LA schools at home, and we really wanted to show what we are capable of.”

Stanford won five of the six singles matches in two sets. UCLA’s Riza Zalameda took senior Alice Barnes to three sets on the second court, but Barnes emerged with the win, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5).

Stanford also swept doubles to start the match, setting the tone for the rest of the day. It started to rain just as singles was wrapping up and the Bruins were packing up in defeat.

There was no raining on Stanford’s domination of USC, however. While the Cardinal lost the doubles point to the Women of Troy earlier this season, the team swept on all three courts this time around.

“I think the doubles was key today,” Barnes said. “We lost the doubles point last time, and to turn it around and sweep them 3-0 this time, that must have been crushing for them.”

Stanford used that momentum to claim five of the singles matches, four of which were won in two sets. No. 7 junior Theresa Logar lost her first set to USC’s No. 49 Luana Magnani, 3-6, but then came back to decisively win the next two sets, 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 3 position. Anca Anastasiu of USC beat sophomore Whitney Deason on the fifth court, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.

The matchup between Barnes and USC’s Amanda Fink drew particular attention. Fink was forced to forfeit her match against Logar in Feburary, on grounds of unsportsmanlike conduct after she was overruled on four line calls in one day. Saturday, however, she seemed careful not to make any questionable line calls.

“I tried not to think too much about what happened at USC,” Barnes said about Fink. “Thinking about something like that will just take your mind off the tennis. I can only judge somebody on what they do on that day against me, and today it wasn’t an issue. I have to say I don’t think she called one tight call all match. I didn’t even question anything.”

Head coach Lele Forood was extremely pleased with the team’s performance over the weekend.

“We were pretty flawless,” she said. “As we’ve come into April, the team has really stepped it up. They are playing much better than over spring break.”

Peaking at the right time has traditionally been a strength of the team, and this year appears to be following in that pattern.

“It is April now, not far away from NCAAs and this is the time we always turn it on,” Barnes said. “I always know my teammates are going to get better and better from this point on. This year won’t be any different.”